Corn's Rally Sends Ripples

Ethanol Boom Cheers Grain Farmers, Pinches Food Makers

The surge in corn prices ignited by the ethanol boom is rippling through the nation's economy -- from the Farm Belt to Wall Street to the office soda machine.

The price of corn, the nation's No. 1 crop in total production, and an ingredient in products ranging from sugary syrups to chicken feed to tortillas, has doubled since this time last year to $3.66 a bushel, despite an abundant harvest, and is inching toward the rarely breached...